Silicon Valley Bank UK arm acquired by HSBC for one Pound

Global banking giant HSBC is coming to rescue the United Kingdom-based branch of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank with a new acquisition.

HSBC officially announced on March 13 that its subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank, is acquiring Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) for 1 British pound ($1.21).

As of March 10, 2023, SVB UK had loans of around 5.5 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) and deposits of around 6.7 billion pounds ($8.1 billion), HSBC said in the announcement.

For the financial year ending Dec. 31, 2022, SVB UK recorded a profit before tax of 88 million pounds ($107 million). SVB UK’s tangible equity is expected to be around 1.4 billion pounds ($1.7 billion).

“Final calculation of the gain arising from the acquisition will be provided in due course,” HSBC wrote, adding that the assets and liabilities of the parent companies of SVB UK are excluded from the transaction. The company added that the acquisition would be funded from existing resources and would be completed immediately.

According to HSBC Group CEO Noel Quinn, the acquisition makes “excellent strategic sense” for HSBC’s business in the United Kingdom, strengthens its commercial banking franchise, and enhances its ability to serve innovative and fast-growing firms.

“We welcome SVB UK’s customers to HSBC and look forward to helping them grow in the UK and around the world,” Quinn said, adding:

SVB UK customers can continue to bank as usual, safe in the knowledge that their deposits are backed by the strength, safety and security of HSBC.

The news comes after authorities in the United States ordered SVB to shut down operations on March 10, triggering panic in crypto markets because some major crypto companies like Circle and Coinbase had significant exposure to the bank.

Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC $0.99) — the second largest stablecoin by market value — is unable to withdraw $3.3 billion of its $40 billion reserves due to SVB’s collapse. Coinbase had around $240 million in corporate funds at Signature — but is expecting to recover the amount fully. Paxos, the issuer of stablecoins like Pax Dollar (USDP) and the troubled Binance USD (BUSD $1.00) stablecoin, also had $250 million stuck at Signature but said that its private insurance would cover the amount.

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